#KitaPunya Instant fame for Sabah company after timepiece spotted on The Flash

KOTA KINABALU: It’s not every day we see Hollywood stars donning accessories from lesser-known brands, much less a Malaysian one. But of course when it actually happens, the chance of the endorsement gaining huge attention is pretty much guaranteed. This is what happened when The Flash’s Grant Gustin was spotted with a Nayan Co’s analogue watch. In a photo uploaded on his Instagram account, Gustin was sporting the watch with a brown leather strap at the Teen Choice Awards 2018 in Los Angeles.

Nayan Co’s co-founders, Fahad Nasir, 31, and Fadzyinie Dullie, 29, could not be more excited when people began inquiring about the watch. (Photo courtesy of Fahad Nasir and screenshot from Grant Gustin Instagram)

It grabbed the attention of one of his followers who asked about the timepiece. The Flash star replied: “Nayan. A photographer I met in Malaysia gave it to me. It’s his own watch company. I love it.” That replied alone has since garnered 1,582 likes. Nayan Co’s co-founders, Fahad Nasir, 31, and Fadzyinie Dullie, 29, could not be more excited when people began inquiring about the watch. According to Fahad, in Dec last year, he had presented two watches to Gustin, who was in Sabah to celebrate his engagement to Andrea Thoma, who is half-Kadazan. He was the couple’s photographer during a traditional ceremony at Thoma’s family home in Kampung Kolopis, Penampang. “It was a gift to congratulate him. I gave him two colours but apparently he likes the brown more as I’ve always seen him wearing it. “He also wore it during Conan O’Brien’s talk show. The other colour is white,” said Fahad, adding the brown leather watch is now one of their fastest selling piece. Speaking more on Nayan Co, Fahad said the company was established in November last year to provide customers with affordable classic and minimalistic timepieces. “I’ve always loved watches and it’s my favourite accessories. The name Nayan is actually the combination of the names of my four-year-old daughter Nayla and two-year-old son Ayaan. “If you turn the logo upside down, it’s actually symmetrical. When we come up with the idea of selling something, we don’t want it to be shoes or clothing. “We want to sell something we are passionate about and a watch is a timeless piece. Not many people are selling them,” he said. Fahad added that their watch, with a 44mm diameter case, comes in one design with four colour options. The watch, he said, is built with care and assembled in China. “When I gifted our watch to Gustin, we have not sold them. We only started selling them in January this year. “The sales are picking up now with 70 per cent of our customers from West Malaysia. We also received order from Singapore,” he said. Asked about Gustin’s response to the watches, Fahad replied that Gustin thanked him for them and that he likes the watches and appreciates them. You can find Nayan Co’s watches on the brand’s Instagram account @Nayan_Co.